PHOTOSHOOTS

MEDIA

THE PROCESS

LEADERS IN BRIDAL DESIGN

Established by Vinka Lucas, an entrepreneur who paved the way for modern bridal design and haute couture evening wear in New Zealand starting from the early 1960s. The label’s founding principles of New Zealand made design and an emphasis on creating beautiful, timeless wedding gowns have endured through the decades and today Vinka Design stands alone in its heritage of design and romanticism. The award-winning work of Vinka included distinguished clientele from the worlds of opera, stage, royalty, diplomatic circles, beauty pageants and special charity events. Over recent years Vinka Design has become a family business and today Vinka Design is led by Vinka Lucas’ daughter Anita, a talented designer and former model. Anita understands the importance of enhancing your best features and providing exceptional design creativity along with an emphasis on customer service which Vinka Design is famous for.

THE VINKA DIFFERENCE

Meeting you for a personal consultation is the first step to discuss your ideas in detail. We are here to help you find the right style for you. Come in and try on gowns from our in-house designer collection. We can then determine which fabrics you like and begin the process of sketching and collaborating with you to create your dream gown. Plus we will provide you with a quote that is all-inclusive – no hidden costs or surprises!

At Vinka Design, we are with you every step of the way – we understand that it’s more than JUST a dress.

Consultation fees are credited when purchasing a gown from our in-house or custom made collection.

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Anita made me the most beautiful wedding dress I could have ever asked for, and it was the most enjoyable and stress-free part of my entire wedding. Mum and I are genuinely going to miss our visits to ‘Vinka Design’, and I will be recommending her to all of my friends who are looking for an incredible wedding dress, with her incredible imported fabrics and exceptional craftsmanship. I wouldn’t have changed a single thing! I would do anything to repeat the entire experience again!! Thank you Anita. xxxx

Hannah & Campbell

I'm not sure I have the words to do justice to how amazing Anita and her team at Vinka Design are. I had heard stories about how stressful it could be finding the perfect wedding dress, but from the moment I stepped inside the studio and met Anita I knew I would be wearing a Vinka gown on my wedding day.
The whole process was so easy right from the beginning; the hardest part was choosing a gown from the wonderful collection of designs made from exquisite fabrics and laces.
Anita created the most beautiful wedding gown for me. The dress was so much better than I'd dreamed; it fit like a glove and I felt absolutely incredible wearing it. I lost count at the number of compliments received throughout the day about how gorgeous my dress was.
I can't thank Anita and her talented ladies enough. If you are planning your special day, I would highly recommend a visit to Vinka Design - you won't regret it!
-Karen

Karen & Blair

Thank you so much for making me the most stunning gown for my special day.It was so enjoyable working with you, mum and I had so much fun at each fitting. You made it such a simple process from start to finish. I knew my dress was the one thing I did not need to worry about! We tell evry new bride that they must come to Vinka!You ladies are so talented!Tim and I had the most incredible day - wish we could relive the whole day all over again!

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Frequently Asked Questions

There’s a lot more to getting a dress for your special day than meets the eye and naturally brides have a lot of questions to ask about the process, the timing and the finer details of finding the perfect gown. We’ve assembled some of the questions we hear most often to hopefully help make this part of planning your wedding that much easier.

The best time to start the search is when you already have a good idea of when your wedding is going to be and what sort of venue you’re going for, whether it be a church, a beach etc. This lets us know how much time we have to work with and helps us find an appropriate style of gown for the occasion. It’s never really too early to get started and making plans sooner often makes things easier as it gives you a better idea of how much to budget for. Because we make all our gowns in-house we can be flexible and if needed we are able to work on a tight schedule, though ideally we’d have around 4-12 months to ensure that everything is perfect.

Not at all. We are designers and a big part of what we do is about knowing what styles and fabrics to use to help accentuate and flatter a bride’s figure and personality so that she looks and feels flawless on the day. We have an extensive in-house collection of gowns and fabrics to work with for inspiration and are more than happy to work alongside you to bring your dream gown to life – even if you aren’t quite sure what it looks like yet.

While a large portion of our gowns are featured here we still have many that are only in our showroom, as well as a range of exclusive laces from all over the world that we are constantly adding to with pieces that are made-to-order. It’s not hard for us to find inspiration and our in-house collection is always growing, so it’s well worth coming in and having a look at what we’ve got in our atelier.

Most of our gowns are between $2,600.00-$7,000.00 depending on the fabrics used and the amount of work involved in crafting the gown. Custom-made gowns are generally more expensive but it does depend on the dress.

Consultations are where we discuss thoughts, ideas, likes and dislikes, the venue and so on to get a general feel for the overall look of the gown. Sometimes we start with a silhouette and find fabric to suit, and other times a fabric is chosen and the design is tailored around it. Often a bride will come in with her own ideas or having fallen in love with one of our gowns but we are also able to use our collection to try out different styles and explore different possibilities. The end result is a sketch that shows the concept of the gown and helps ensure that you are happy with its design so that the process of physically creating the gown can begin.

A consult generally lasts an hour and costs $100.00, which is then taken off the cost of the dress if a purchase is made. If more than one session is needed however it comes at no extra cost. You are welcome to bring along anyone you choose, whether they be parents, grandparents or friends, or even come alone – whatever you feel most comfortable with.

We generally like to have three fittings across the process, along with one appointment to take measurements beforehand. The first two fittings are about ensuring that the body of the gown fits perfectly, focusing on the neckline and the bodice. This requires the bra that the measurements were taken in, and ideally for the best fit it’s a good idea to be at the same size that you’ll be on the day. The second or third fitting will ensure that the hemline is the right length so having the shoes you want to wear at this point is vital.

Accessories are an important part of the bride’s look and making sure that they flatter both her and the gown is essential. For us advising a bride on how to accessorise for the big day is an integral part of the process and we have a broad range of accessories and veils in-store to help inspire and bring your look to life. These are available for purchase and we can also make a veil to order specifically to suit your dress and tastes. Of course, if you already have your own jewelry, that works fine – you just need to bring it to the final fitting so we can make sure you’re happy with how it all fits together.

This isn’t a problem for us, although we do have to do things a bit differently so as to minimise the amount of times you need to travel to us. We like to take measurements in the same visit as the initial consult and then ideally handle the first and second fittings together in the next visit, which we often do over the course of a day. The third visit is generally overnight and involves the third and final fittings. Depending on the complexity of the gown it will be complete and ready to be picked up by the end of the third visit. This is just a general idea of how we like to handle the process – ultimately the approach we take will change between brides so that we can tailor it to best suit your circumstances and the intricacies of the gown.